Steroid hormones and embryo development in ovariectomized hamsters

Preimplantation embryo development was arrested at the premorula stage in hamsters ovariectomized on Day 1 of pregnancy. This effect was reversed when 500 micrograms progesterone were administered daily. Oestradiol-17 beta given alone had no significant effect on the cleavage rate or blastocyst formation, but a synergistic response was evident when a suboptimal (30 micrograms) dose of progesterone was given with 50 ng oestradiol-17 beta. Cholesterol and hydrocortisol had no effect on embryo development.     

Effect of boron application on barley in a sierozem sandy soil

Summary In a pot culture experiment on a sierozem sandy soil (pH 8.2) rates of added B at 3 ppm although decreased root yield significantly but shoot and grain yield was unaffected even at 6 ppm added B, even though shoot B concentration was as high as 360 ppm and Ca/B ratio as low as 11. At 6 ppm applied B, shoot yield was increased by 18.5 per cent, whereas grain yield was at par with control. The results suggested that Ca/B ratio in barley straw was not a reliable index for determing the magnitude of B problem in the soil.     

Isoproterenol fails to produce myocardial necrosis in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Biochemical alterations in the hearts of non-diabetic and 5 weeks of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats following isoproterenol (ISO) administration were compared. Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and myocardial adenosine triphosphate (ATP), creatine phosphate (CP), lactate and glycogen were used as indices of myocardial injury. Hearts from diabetic rats (blood glucose greater than 350 mg/dl), before ISO administration, had normal lactate levels but significantly low high-energy phosphate (HEP) levels and high glycogen levels in comparison to non-diabetic rats. No difference was observed in serum LDH levels between these two groups. ISO administration to non-diabetic rats caused myocardial necrosis as evidenced by a significant depletion of myocardial glycogen and HEPs along with significant myocardial lactate accumulation and an increase in serum LDH. However, the hearts from diabetic rats failed to show any significant HEP depletion, accumulation of lactate and leakage of LDH into serum following ISO-administration, though myocardial glycogen level was significantly lowered. These observations, in conjunction with earlier reports, point to the hypothesis that, in diabetes, there are certain alterations in the sarcolemma which hamper the process by which ISO causes myocardial necrosis.     

Correction to: Transient Sub-cellular Localization and In Vivo Protein-Protein Interaction Study of Multiple Abiotic Stress Responsive AteIF4A-III and AtALY4 Proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plant Molecular Biology Reporter - The affiliation 2 in the published article was Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-NEIST Campus, Jorhat, Assam 785,006, India.     

Slow and fast development in Parthenium beetle and its effect on reproductive attributes

The present study was designed to investigate the existence of slow and fast developing individuals and to evaluate their effect on reproductive attributes of Parthenium beetle, Zygogramma bicolorata Pallister (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae); a biocontrol agent of Parthenium weed. Significantly different rates of development were found in a cohort of the beetle. Under constant rearing conditions, the emergence ratio of slow and fast developers was determined to be 0.47 and 0.53, respectively. Males developed faster than females, and significant differences in development were found among all immature stages and total developmental period. Slow developing females laid higher numbers of eggs with a higher percentage egg viability than fast developing females. This is the first attempt of such a study for the Parthenium beetle, and provides great insight into Parthenium beetle development for evolutionary biologists, improving our understanding of their ecological thresholds. The information could help in the selection of fast developing lines and thus in the mass multiplication of this bioagent.     

Long-Term Secondary Care Costs of Endometrial Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study Nested within the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS)

BackgroundThere is limited evidence on the costs of Endometrial Cancer (EC) by stage of disease. We estimated the long-term secondary care costs of EC according to stage at diagnosis in an English population-based cohort.MethodsWomen participating in UKCTOCS and diagnosed with EC following enrolment (2001–2005) and prior to 31^st Dec 2009 were identified to have EC through multiple sources. Survival was calculated through data linkage to death registry. Costs estimates were derived from hospital records accessed from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) with additional patient level covariates derived from case notes and patient questionnaires. Missing and censored data was imputed using Multiple Imputation. Regression analysis of cost and survival was undertaken.Results491 of 641 women with EC were included. Five year total costs were strongly dependent on stage, ranging from £9,475 (diagnosis at stage IA/IB) to £26,080 (diagnosis at stage III). Stage, grade and BMI were the strongest predictors of costs. The majority of costs for stage I/II EC were incurred in the first six months after diagnosis while for stage III / IV considerable costs accrued after the first six months.ConclusionsIn addition to survival advantages, there are significant cost savings if patients with EC are detected earlier.     

Electron transfer in natural and unnatural flavoporphyrins

The development of chemical models for enzymes and their chemical and physical studies constitutes an important area of research from a scientific as well as an industrial point of view. Covalently linked flavin and porphyrin (flavoporphyrins) have attracted attention due to their applications as chemical models for flavoproteins and related enzymes. In this review, the literature has been surveyed to provide a comprehensive coverage of the synthetic methodology and characterization techniques of various types of synthetic flavoporphyrins.     

Effects of an antiprogestin onapristone on the endometrium of bonnet monkeys: morphometric and ultrastructural studies

Our previous studies demonstrated the ability of low doses of antiprogestin ZK 98.299 (onapristone) to inhibit fertility in bonnet monkeys. In the present study cumulative effects of low doses of ZK 98.299 on the endometrial cytoarchitecture of bonnet monkeys were analyzed. Treatment with either the vehicle (n = 3) or onapristone at 2.5 mg (n = 4) or 5.0 mg (n = 3) was initiated on Day 5 of the first menstrual cycle and thereafter repeated every third day for four to seven consecutive cycles. The last treatment cycles were anovulatory in two animals treated with 2.5 mg and all animals treated with 5.0 mg. Endometrial biopsies were collected on Day 8 after the midcycle estradiol peak in ovulatory menstrual cycles and on Day 20 in anovulatory menstrual cycles during the last treatment cycle. Ultrathin sections of the fixed endometrium were stained with toluidine blue for morphometric analysis and uranyl acetate and lead citrate for ultrastructural analysis. The ZK 98.299-treated animals showed a dose-dependent endometrial atrophy as evident by a decrease in the height and diameter of the glands and early signs of compaction in the stroma. Ultrastructural analysis also revealed dose-dependent degenerative changes in the subcellular organelles such as the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes, and Golgi apparatus. This suggests that long-term treatment with low doses of ZK 98.299 leads to the suppression of estrogen-dependent endometrial proliferation. However, this blockade operates independent of estradiol receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) concentrations as the expressions of these steroid receptors did not show any significant changes even after prolonged treatment. The study demonstrated an antiestrogenic effect of ZK 98.299 on endometrium after prolonged treatment in bonnet monkeys.     

Progesterone receptor as an indicator of sperm function

Expression of progesterone receptor (PR) localization on spermatozoa was determined in men with normal and abnormal spermiograms. Studies were also carried out to evaluate the potential of PR as a marker of sperm function. Progesterone receptor expression on spermatozoa from men with normozoospermia (n = 8), oligozoospermia (n = 7), asthenozoospermia (n = 8), oligoasthenozoospermia (n = 7), and teratozoospermia (n = 11) was analyzed using an immunocytochemical method with monoclonal antibodies against PR, and flow cytometry using a cell-impermeable fluorescein-tagged progesterone coupled to BSA complex (P-FITC-BSA). Both methods revealed significantly fewer (P < 0.05) PR-positive spermatozoa in men with oligozoospermia, asthenozoospermia, oligoasthenozoospermia, and teratozoospermia compared with men with normozoospermia, thereby suggesting that down-regulation of PR expression in spermatozoa may be one of the causes of male infertility. Spermatozoa from men with normozoospermia (n = 12), oligozoospermia (n = 12), asthenozoospermia (n = 12), oligoasthenozoospermia (n = 9), and teratozoospermia (n = 10) were exposed to low osmotic conditions in the hypoosmotic swelling (HOS) test and then analyzed for PR expression using P-FITC-BSA complex. A significantly higher percentage (P < 0.05) of spermatozoa with physiologically active plasma membrane (HOS+) lacked PR expression (HOS+PR-) in all categories of men with infertility, thereby suggesting that compared to the HOS test, PR expression is a better indicator of sperm function. Furthermore, PR expression in spermatozoa showed a strong (P < 0.05) positive correlation with their ability to undergo an in vitro acrosome reaction. This was observed in all study groups (i.e., normozoospermia, r = 0.8545; oligozoospermia, r = 0.8711; asthenozoospermia, r = 0.7645; oligoasthenozoospermia, r = 0.9003; and teratozoospermia, r = 0.8676). This suggests a potential role for PR in the events leading to the acrosome reaction in sperm.